The Statue of Zeus at the Greek Olympics

This colossal gold statue was built to celebrate the first Olympic Games held in Olympia. The statue was completed around 432 BC by the classical sculptor Phidias. Inside the temple, it sat on a gem-encrusted, gilded wooden throne, overlooking the entire city. The statue was 40 feet tall, holding a scepter in one hand and a small statue of the goddess of victory in the other. Both sides were made of ivory and precious metals. After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympics were banned in AD 391 as a pagan activity, and the temple was also closed. Despite historians' continuous debate over whether the statue was destroyed along with the temple...